Section 3 : Evaluating, Implementing & Managing Instructional Programs & Projects

Search for at least two other models used for evaluation and summarize these models. Describe how you would use them to evaluate your instruction. Reflect on what other questions that instructional design evaluation should address besides whether the instructional design leads to comparable amounts of learning and learner satisfaction as traditional methods. What else would be useful to know?

Rossi’s Five-Domain Evaluation model states that “each evaluation should be tailored to fit local needs, resources, and type of program.” In this model the evaluation questions are a key part of the process. These questions “constitute the core, from which the rest of the evaluation evolves.” There are five primary evaluation domains in this theory: 1) needs assessment, 2) theory assessment, 3) implementation assessment, 4) impact assessment, and 5) efficiency assessment. With my instruction, the important part of this model for me is determining the evaluation questions prior to the design or while the design is in progress. In most cases I would say I tend to think of evaluation as something that happens at the end of the process rather than the beginning.  Rethinking the timing of evaluation will have an impact on my instruction. The needs assessment is something that I felt I did very well within my classroom. My focus for using technology had changed to always been on the learning from not being the tool. Placing the needs assessment first in this theory lends itself to that goal. The second part focuses on the design of the instruction. Is the instruction age appropriate? Does it meet the needs of my population? Is the instruction engaging? In my classroom, I tend to do well in this area of the evaluation and design process. The next three parts of the process are all areas I can improve on in my evaluation process. Implementation assessment is something important for me to focus on because of my teaching style. I tend to veer off the scheduled academic plan at times and often let my students guide my instruction. The implementation portion of the process will help me evaluate whether my instruction was successful or not.  Collecting data and using the data to make decisions are what I think of for impact assessment. I know this is my weakest area of the process and my instruction could improve by focusing more on this step. The last part, efficiency assessment, has never been a focus for me as a classroom teacher. As an instructional designer, I know it will be a big factor and I see the importance of making sure choices are cost-effective.

Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Method uses the “commonsense idea” that an effective way to determine “what works” is to examine successful cases and compare them to unsuccessful cases. I picked this method to discuss because I liked how it highlighted storytelling as part of the evaluation process. I agree that evaluating a design is similar to telling a story. Communicating this story can lead to better instructional design. I felt this method was reflective of training.  In my current role, I do lots of training with the CTE department.  Most importantly I work with practicum teachers because most are lost due to lack of curriculum resources.  I think certain aspects could be beneficial. When It comes to practicum courses, they are very board in teaching students best practices in the workplace with the career pathway they’ve chosen.  This is generally when students leave campus to go out to unpaid internships.  However, many teachers don’t realize there are process and procedures in place. Because I was a practicum teacher in previous years and started the internship program in my district, I felt it was necessary to meet with the practicum teachers once a month for support. Brinkerhoff’s model includes creating a visual impact model listing all the impact/outcomes expected from the program. This visual should include capabilities, behaviors/environmental conditions needed to achieve the goals of the program. This visual is something that I think that would really help me organize and keep track of the CTE practicum teacher meetings. Another aspect of the Brinkerhoff’s model is to conduct surveys to identify the best and worse cases. This is a technique I think I will start doing at the beginning and end of the year to monitor CTE teacher progress. Knowing which teachers are having success and which are not, would help greatly in deciding what we need to talk about at each meeting. It would also allow me to have those teachers share what they are doing/not doing that contributes to their success or failure. The last part of the model is to write-up the evaluation findings. Going through this process of “telling the story” would be beneficial for the teachers, the district and me.  

You have been assigned to develop a series of professional development sessions focusing on technology use in the classroom for teachers during a time of economic decline. How will you use Situational Leadership to facilitate this project and manage scarce resources?

Situational leadership requires the manager or leader to adjust their style of leadership to best match the needs of the people he or she is trying to influence. The key to success as a leader is building relationships with the trainers and helping them to facilitate relationships with the classroom teachers. As a leader of this project, I would first start with the end in mind.  I would start with a goal for the trainings and then make sure everyone involved with executing the training was in agreement with those goals.  With limited resources as an issue, my next step would be to ensure the scope of the project was in line with the resources available. This might mean making tough decisions about how the training is facilitated or even re-evaluating the goals of the project. It is important that the scope matches the resources. Once the project was underway, my focus would shift to communication with those involved and continual evaluation of the program. Using the positive relationships as a foundation, I would then support, motivate or challenge the individuals involved as needed to meet the goals of the project.